Food | Travel | Lifestyle

The Hospitality Convention 2017, Bandra

The Hospitality Convention is an annual and exclusive event for students who wish to pursue further education and enhance their careers in hospitality, hotel management, event management or in the travel and tourism industry. The event focuses on the trends, advancements and the scope within the hospitality industry globally.

The convention, the first of its kind in India, brought together some of the biggest names in the industry like Kunal Kapur, Zorawar Kalra, Kainaz Messman, Pankaj Kamble, Sushma Gaikwad, Mandeep Lamba and Amninder Sandhu.

We were invited for the event, which was managed by ‘Paramus Education’, and conducted on the 12th of August 2017, at St. Andrew’s Auditorium, Bandra and were lucky to interact with some of the biggest chefs and entrepreneurs in the industry like Kunal Kapur, Vicky Ratnani, Rakhee Vaswani, Zorawar Kalra and Kainaz Messman as well as actor Abhishek Verma, who was invited as the chief guest for the event.

Some facts and interesting things which we got to know in the interviews.

Abhishek Verma

Being a Punjabi, Abhishek loves Indian food and desi ghee, his favorite meal being rajma chaval, aloo gobi and paratha. He enjoys street food. Anand Hi Anand is one of his favorite restaurants but he enjoys having take aways from various places in his car. He is a vegetarian. His advice to the students is, “To pursue a career in any field, be patient, set goals and work for yourself.”

Kainaz Messman

Kainaz, the founder of Theobroma patisserie wanted to pursue law before she realized that she was passionate about cooking and wanted to be a chef. Her goal was to offer good quality food at honest prices. Her job at Theobroma is to get the job done. Her go-to breakfast is coffee and croissant. Her advice to the students is, “Every day in the kitchen is a new day in the kitchen. There is never an end to learning. So keep learning.”

Vicky Ratnani

Some of his best cooking experiences include cooking biryani for his mother as well as cooking for Nelson Mandela. His motivation in being a chef was his mother, the people around him and the chef in his school. Ananda Solomon is one of his inspirations. Vicky likes to cook dishes which are not Indian, with Indian ingredients. Attica Restaurant in Melbourne is one of his international favorites.

Rakhee Vaswani

Rakhee Vaswani is enthusiastic about teaching. Her students range from the age of 5 to 80. Her favorite cuisine is Asian. Biryani is her weakness. Her motivation is passion, hard work and following dreams. Her biggest inspiration and critic in cooking is her husband. One baking tip she has to give is that baking is a science. The measurements should be perfect to get the perfect product. For the students, she likes to add that, “This is one of the best industries with a lot of scope and avenues.”

Zorawar Kalra

Zoravar Kalra, the owner of Masala Library, Farzi Cafe, Punjab Grill and other popular ventures is not a chef but an entrepreneur. One of his favorite restaurants apart from his own is Mahesh Lunch Home. His important meal of the day is breakfast. Rista Kofta prepared by his grandmother is his favorite dish. His message to the students is that they have made made a brave career choice, “Make it a lifestyle choice and not a job. Always get a reality check.”

Kunal Kapur

The style icon for Kunal Kapur is Ranveer Singh. His three favorite food items are chocolate, cheese and butter. According to him, the most overrated food trend is that of fusion food. His biggest food inspiration is his mother. A place he would like to visit next is Spain. He would like to go to Seville and Barcelona in Spain. His advice to the students is, “Take it easy. Give it time and be patient.”

The convention, which included some contests, competitions and guidance from some of the big names in the industry got an overwhelming response from everyone. With the growth in various sectors of hospitality such as tourism and hotel, bakery and confectioneries, bartending, events, spa and wellness and catering, such events definitely help in giving an insight of prospects in their career to students.

Also check out Shweta Sandhu’s perspective on The Hospitality Convention 2017 here.